When the World Goes Boom
by Dattebayo Devon
Summary: Disaster enjoys striking when it's least expected; especially if it's not the disaster that's expected. As the world they knew comes to a close, the survivors must band together to make it out alive, and discover the truth of what happened that day.HIATUS
1. The Disaster

**AN: **Once upon a time, at really late at night at a time in which I was still a high-schooler … I wrote twenty-nine pages of this story, then fell asleep since it was probably 4 AM. Many months later, I uncovered it in my files, and was cheered on by Kitty, Sissy and Shitsuren to finish it. So. This is a disaster fanfiction. Despite what I wanted, as I honestly feel that breaking this down into chapters would take away from the full effect of this story, it's in multiple chapters. Which is driving me nuts. Really, really nuts. To me, it's more like a movie than a book with chapters. Would you like your favorite movie if only fifteen minutes came out every month? Probably not. That is my logic. Buuut I think many of you would scream (as some already have) at a fanfiction with 20,000+ words in it and all that smushed into one chapter. Anyways, I hope all the facts in this story are as real as I could make it. If it isn't … then just go along with it. I am sorry about the long word count of this fanfiction (no I'm not). Expect a quick update. I'm breaking this fanfiction down to contain about 5 to 8 pages in each chapter. This fanfiction technically starts in the middle of episode twenty-one. Please let me know of any errors and PLEASE review. I really, really, REALLY appreciate reviews.

**Korean Friendly Translation (Thanks to lovitan**): h t t p : / / c a f e . n a v e r . c o m / m i k a d o l o v e / 2 7 4 6

**Disclaimer: **We do not in any way own the characters/scenes/… oh you know the drill I'm sure.

* * *

**When the World Goes "Boom"**

**A Durarara! Fanfiction written by Foxy**

**Chapter One: The Disaster**

* * *

_Pictures flashed across the screen. "The island of Honshu. Home to many great moments of history for our nation. On the surface, it is home to the active volcano Mount Fuji and the Japanese Alps. Japan's longest rivers, the Shinano River, runs swiftly through what is now becoming a reserve for wildlife and plant life. It has been known for its earthquakes, including an infamous one that struck in September 1923. But perhaps the worst tragedy that has ever struck this island under the reign of Japan is what took place on March 17th, 2003. What was once known as Japan's Tokyo Metropolis, as well as adjacent lands and towns, was completely wiped away by forces that are still unknown to this day."_

_Credits and music soon flashed and scrolled across, images in the background indicating the suddenness of the disaster that had struck. Soon, the well-groomed, well-educated narrator was visible, sitting in a chair, speaking directly to the camera. "Many years ago, the greatest tragedy since the Atom Bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 occurred March 17th, 2003, on Honshu Island. That very day, the various parts of Honshu Island – including Tokyo – were nearly wiped out. It is now a graveyard that remains taboo to go to today, although new settlements have started appearing along the coastlines as our population recovers. The causes are still unknown: many speculate it to have been an earthquake. Some believe it was a weapon that destroyed it. Others believe it was an act of God."_

_The narrator stands up, walks over to where a map of former Honshu Island is displayed. On at are marked areas of mega disaster. "Most believe that we will never find the answer as to what wiped out Japan's main island. However, we seek to help uncover that answer within the next two hours. We have sought out the remaining survivors of the incident and have asked them for their stories. We have sent teams out for archaeological diggings, and we have historians to help explain the events to us. We hope that at some point in the future we will uncover the truth of what happened on that day."_

_More images, more credits. The images then changed to an elderly woman, and text on the screen read: [Asagaya District of Suginami]. _

"_Can you recall the events of March 17th, 2003, for us?"_

"_It was the day that hell descended, that's what."_

_The screen flashed, showing another snippet of another interview._

_A nervous glance, a sorrowful gaze from an old man sitting within a group of elderly people. [Ikebukuro District of Toshima]. "…It's not something I like remembering."_

_[Azabu District of Minato]. "The last thing I remember was the ground quaking violently. The next I woke up and people were digging me out. I've never gone back there. Nor do I want to."_

_[Ginza District of Chuo]. Three or four grouped together, an elderly woman spoke. "We were trapped inside a subway car for a week. I'm never going to forget the smell of the rotting flesh. Never."_

_[Kameido District of Koto]. An elderly man sitting next to his daughter. "I lost my leg in that damn event. But I'm damn glad it was just the leg and not like the man next to me that lost his head."_

_[Shibuya District of Shibuya]. "Never again. Never again. My grandfather, who's gone to rest now, told me when he dug me out that this was my Hiroshima. I've never forgotten him or that day."_

"_We can only wonder what happened … on that day …"  
_*

Lost in his thoughts and troubled by everything he ever knew, Mikado was letting his feet lead him to his way home. His mind brewed a storm of troubles; to begin with, there was Takeguchi-kun. Takeguchi-kun wasn't a bully or a jerk at all; he was a normal kid who was in the same grade as Mikado. And yet he was targeted for simply being a member of the Dollars, when he hadn't done anything at all to provoke such an attack.

_Maybe … it's a good idea for him to quit the Dollars … I'd hate for him to be targeted again. I'd hate for _anyone _to be targeted for that matter. _He looked up ahead of where he was walking, his eyes still zoned out in thought. He didn't like the fact that Dollars was being accepted as a thug gang; that wasn't supposed to be its purpose. The Dollars were meant to remain invisible, not to attack, not to be attacked, and not to get involved in the Gang Wars. Dollars meant anyone, anywhere; the man across the street, the woman walking out of the store, the teenagers hanging out in the park – and it was meant to stay that: a network of allies and of friends that didn't want to fight. Yet, other gangs were advancing on them, and he knew people would get hurt if they didn't do something. If _he_ didn't do something.

His talk with his senior, Kadota, had only made him feel even more lost within the city. Mikado still thought now – more than ever – that Dollars had not been a good idea to begin with. Why had he kept pushing the Dollars up, until it fully surfaced in the real world? Why hadn't he dropped it when the other creators had? _Maybe this chaos would end if I have the group disappear for good._

The Dollars wasn't his only worry, either. _Kida-kun and Sonohara-san … they're both troubled by something too … _He had noticed Kida's troubles. It was hard not to notice; he wasn't playful anymore. He was always disappearing and was constantly busy, and even more recently, Kida had been ignoring him. Mikado couldn't understand why, either. _But he seems troubled by the rising gang violence … he couldn't be involved in one, could he?_ He shook the thought from his head. _No, I doubt it … it's probably something else …_

However, Sonohara's troubles went completely unnoticed by him. And for that, he mentally kicked himself. The signs had been there, but he hadn't seen any of them until her friend, Harima-san, confronted him about it. To him, it showed him how useless as a friend he'd been. _I never even noticed that she was feeling troubled by something as well …_

His mind progressed in the turmoil of his dilemmas as he continued on his way home.  
*

Spying a stray can on the ground in a rather deserted street, Masaomi walked over to it casually and kicked it. He watched it clatter down the street, bumping up in the air every time its bent sides struck a rough surface. He strolled up to it once more, and repeated the process.

The Yellow Scarves were getting feisty; and it wasn't in any kind of good way. The Yellow Scarves were thirsting for blood, for some form of violence that Masaomi, personally, wasn't fond of.

It hadn't been like this before. When he founded the group years back, it had been just him and about ten classmates who had elected him as their leader. They'd form the ideas together, although they would ask his permission first, since he was the best at thinking things through. And they only did things to make themselves look cool; cool in the good guy way, not the bad ass way. To Kida, it had also been a way to impress the ladies with his commanding skills.

But now … he supposed the group would have either had to have dissolved, or become much more serious. And he needed it to be serious as well; he had a true purpose for it now. A purpose that definitely topped all of the past deeds of the Yellow Scarves. Finding and putting an end to the Slasher that had attacked Anri: that was his quest. And he had to admit that he had some good leads now. The Black Rider belonged to the Dollars. And after the encounter at their base, it now appeared that the Black Rider was in co-hoots with the Slasher.

Masaomi wasn't stupid; he could add two and two. It added up to the fact that the Dollars was the most likely culprit behind the Slasher attacks. But if Mikado really was the Dollars leader, as Izaya had informed him … he just couldn't see Mikado as the type to purposefully go looking to hurt people in any manner – especially the manner the Slasher used.

In the end, he really couldn't think that Mikado was behind the Slasher attacks. He just _wasn't_ that kind of a guy. But then there was the matter that Mikado had never told him, his _best friend_, that he was the leader of an online group. Even though it may have been the smarter choice, especially since Kida himself probably was still in the Yellow Scarves at that point in time, but it left him a little unsure of whether or not he could trust his best friend. He didn't want to see Mikado get hurt … but if Dollars was being left unchecked, he would put an end to it.  
*

Her eyes glowed an eerie red as they danced back and forth, looking to her left and her right. Her feet pattered against the pavement as she ran from alleyway to alleyway, sending thoughts from her mind to the children of Saika. Anri sought the help of the children that were part of the Yellow Scarves, and most of them heard her. She sought to bring an end to the fighting that she felt she had caused, and to do that, she believed she needed to stop the Yellow Scarves' violence. _"Can anyone hear my voice?"_

She didn't want to see any more innocent people get hurt due to her past lack of self-control; she was responsible for causing the rift between the gangs. By using those of Saika's children that held positions in the Yellow Scarves, there would likely be fewer casualties or wounded. It was underhanded, but crafty. It would be better to have the Yellow Scarves fall apart on the inside and remain distracted by that rather than going around and beating up people. She was a bit worried about the children she was using, though; she didn't want to see them hurt either. _But it's the only way this conflict can end … it's the easiest way for it to end._ She re-assured herself. _The Yellow Scarves might be more lenient to their fellow members as well, since they won't remember it. _At the most, confusion may or may not be a benefit here. But she did not want to simply sit back and do nothing anymore. She had to use her abilities to her fullest now in order to bring about peace.  
*

"Here's the address," Shinra held out a piece of note paper with writing scribbled on it; Celty tucked it away with her shadows. "It shouldn't take too long to finish this, so why don't you do me a liiitttle favor and swing by the Sushi shop afterwards to pick up something I'm expecting!"

A few awkward moments of no response, in which Shinra still stood in his goofy position. Celty then pulled out her pager and typed. [_It's something I won't like, isn't it?_]

Sweat drops began to form on Shinra's forehead. "Wh-what on earth do you mean, Celty my love?"

Tapping could be heard again. [_I can see the nervous look on your face. Don't think I'm stupid._]

The doctor (although certainly no one would believe he was one if they saw how dramatic he could be) sighed. "I guess you're too smart for me to hide anything from." Celty waited patiently for an answer. "…my Father."

[_No._] The response came almost as soon as Shinra had finished his sentence, and the pager disappeared as well, meaning Celty meant the end of the conversation. She started heading down the hallway towards the door.

"Aww come on honey!" Shinra bounded after her, but knew better than to cross her. "He's not my favorite person either, but he is going to be your father-in-law, so pleeeaasse?" Celty was already gone. He pouted, but then smiled. _She'll probably pick him up when she's done.  
_*

"Seiji! I made you some homemade Dango. Try some!" Mika whipped out a box from her bag and held it inches from Seiji's face. He simply stared at it for a minute, but when she set the box down, took one out and handed it to him; he took it from her and tried a small bit.

"It's good. But it would be even better if you helped me finish it."

Mika giggled, and scooted herself even closer to Seiji on the park bench. It would be difficult for anyone passing by to think they weren't intimate. She leaned her face in and took a small bit in her mouth from the other end of the stick at the same time that her "boyfriend" did.

When she pulled back, she felt his hand trail down her cheek and move in towards her lips, wiping away some crumbs. "I love how your mouth looks exactly the same as _hers_." His voice sounded far-off, as if he wasn't really interested in _her._

She knew the only reason he was with her now was because her face resembled that of a head he was in love with. But it didn't matter to her; she remained filled with her passion for him, and she felt acting upon her feelings was the best course of action. To be so close to him … that was enough for her. If her looks made Seiji happy, then she was happy as well – and that's what mattered to her.

She giggled again, pulling back a little and leaning up against him, staring up at the sky above the buildings and the trees. She blinked, squinting to try and look closer.

"Seiji, is it just me, or is something weird going on up there?"  
*

Anri stopped in her tracks, feeling Saika inside of her start to tingle with excitement. _What is it?_ Anri wondered, looking around and trying to detect what had made Saika ecstatic, but she couldn't trace it. But then she heard a gleeful cry from the demon's blade inside her mind: "_It's Dead It's Dead It's Dead It's Dead -!_"

She felt her blood run cold, aware that something monstrous, something horrible was going to happen. She started to run faster down the sidewalk, forgetting her original objective as she tried to sense what Saika grew ever so more thrilled with.  
*

"Hmm … interesting," Izaya leaned back in his spinny chair, looking outside the window up at the sky. "Very interesting."

"What is it now?" Namie asked sarcastically as she filed books away.

"It looks like the sky's boiling over."

"… Excuse me?"  
*

She watched from her hospital room's window, her mouth hanging freely as she watched with unbelieving eyes. _The buildings … they seem to be warping …  
_*

Masaomi backed up a few steps, looking up with other onlookers at the towering buildings of Tokyo. The structures seemed to be contorting, some even … _melting …_ _What the hell is that? _His former worries were momentarily forgotten in the new, unknown development. The can that he had been kicking around in contemplation moments before was now forgotten as it rolled off to the side and gently tapped the base of a wall.

He heard the people around him starting to become panicked at the disturbing rates some of the buildings were contorting; one in particular about a block ahead of them was starting to bend at such an angle that it looked ready to snap off. What the hell was going on? Masaomi's mind drew a blank as his mind went through the various possibilities, but nothing that he knew of made any sense. Bombs? Dynamite? No, someone would've heard or seen an explosion. It was more as if the buildings were starting to rip off or melt by some force. _But what force?_

Absentmindedly pulling out his phone, he felt his fingers start to brush across the buttons, but they froze, unable to actually press any of them. He looked down at his phone, once again feeling the sinking feeling of despair. Who would he call? Who _should_ he call? He could already hear the panic around him calling the police, the fire department, _whoever_ they could. He couldn't call out his gang, as there was no way they could solve _this_ problem. The government was probably already flooded with calls, and all about the same problem, so there'd be no point to confuse those lines any more than they were.

_Who do I call? _He bit his lip, feeling his insides shaking at the warped sight before him, even though it was difficult for anyone to see the shaking on his outside. His friend's faces, whom had appeared to him in his previous thoughts, jumped to his mind once again. But then his parents came to mind, too; his parents were in another district entirely. Were they witnessing what he was where they were? But then his friends, they were somewhere in this district … were they okay? What should he do? With each new question that remained unanswered, his heart beat just that much faster.

He didn't get the time to decide. Before he knew it – before anyone around him knew it – the earth beneath him gave a sudden jolt upwards, and thrust back downwards again.

Masaomi had been swept off his feet, effectively falling backwards, feeling and hearing the rumble beneath his being. It was obvious that now an earthquake was happening; whether or not the buildings' warped states were related to the earthquake, though, didn't seem a priority anymore.

The initial quake was brief, and Masaomi started to slowly stand up on his own, despite that his own legs were shaking. He looked around at the panic of people, some running into buildings, some running out, many of them on their phones or tugging their loved ones away to an unknown "safe" spot.

_Where's my phone?_ Masaomi thought shakily, looking at the ground for it among the people running past him. He didn't have time to find it, as the ground moved once more.

This time, the earth quaking felt a lot harsher. He wasn't able to register his surroundings during this quake, falling forward and clinging onto the ground as best he could in a crouched position, moving himself closer to the wall at any chance he got. He heard a great rumble – not the one coming from the earth, but a different one, a heavier one, at the same time, but his mind was too much in a panic and sensory lockdown to try to even think of what it might be.

When the shaking stopped, his mind started to clear again. His fingers were trembling as well, and his nails were red and bloodied from having tried to grip the concrete ground, now full of cracks, during the quake.

His vision felt hazy; the warped vision sensation that one sees when smoke comes off a fire is what his vision looked like all around him. But before he could wonder why, a more immediate problem needed attention.

Still crouched down, his fingers reached up to his throat, starting to scratch as he felt pressure growing inside of his chest. _I … I can't breathe! Why can't I breathe? Come on, damn it, breathe!_

Instead, a choking, sputtering sound erupted from deep in his throat, and he hunched down even further on his knees and moved closer to the base of the wall next to him, where the kicked can still resided. Why couldn't he breathe? It didn't feel like there were any gases or that something as sticking in his throat. His body felt strange, as if lighter, and maybe even swelling some. A panic attack? Likely. But he couldn't dwell too much on it, he had to force himself to breathe – and _soon._

Somehow, he was lucky; instead of a sputtering, gagging noise, he was able to suck in air into his lungs, which then caused him to start coughing. Now his throat felt a burning sensation, probably from not being able to breathe, then breathing too quickly, and finally inhaling whatever dust or debris was nearby. He took the chance to try to take in his surroundings, although he made no attempts to move. The heavy, impacting sound he'd heard earlier that'd been unrelated to the quake was the collapsed tower down the street, which had effectively caused a domino effect on the buildings opposite of him. Others around him were screaming or lying on the ground, unmoving, and rightfully so.

He grabbed a hold of his phone, thankful when he saw that it was okay and still within his reaching distance. Unthinkingly, he quickly started messaging someone – anyone – he wasn't even sure who. His eyes were starting to feel a burning sensation as well, and he was starting to feel overly warm, and he couldn't read what he was writing but he hoped it made as much sense as it made in his mind – which was probably little to no sense at all. The panic he felt in his entire being had a strong hold on him, and he _felt_ his survival instinct also trying to kick in. _Run. Hide. Find somewhere safe. Find others. Stay away from threats. Run._ But he couldn't run; his ankle felt twisted, probably from one of his earlier falls. He just kept typing, until the choking sensation came back, and he found he couldn't breathe yet again. Only this time, the burning sensation in his body multiplied exponentially.

The earth then chose to rock a third time. This time, Masaomi had no idea what happened. The earth had shook and now he felt his senses slipping. His vision was quickly fading, and he felt as if he was losing both consciousness and control. But as he started to slip into this state, he felt … realization dawn upon him. As if truth, the fluttering, floating feeling he received, was speaking quietly in a gentle tongue, and the world was rebuilding itself in a new form that he both was and wasn't supposed to recognize. He used what he control he had left to move his thumb across his phone, hoping that his message … and his realization … would reach its unknown destination.


	2. Awakening I

**AN: **Aaand now it's time for us to find out the initial survivors. This ought to be fun (Sorry, Wolf-of-Worlds, the entire Raira trio doesn't make it. Maybe in a different story). I think y'all are gonna love the group of "survivors," even though two of them aren't going to pop in for a while. I'd love for people to try and guess the other two. XD (Not that it's going to change my opinion). Considering a seventh survivor too, but it'd have to be a novel-only character. You might hate me for killing off some others, but yeah. Life's not fair. Neither are disasters. :P Please read and review.

**Disclaimer:** We do not in any way own the characters/scenes/… oh you know the drill I'm sure.

* * *

**When the World Goes "Boom"**

**A Durarara! Fanfiction written by Foxy**

**Chapter Two: Awakening (I)

* * *

**

"_What was the first thing you remember thinking about when you came to after the quake?"_

"_The first thought that ran through my mind? 'Well, that was unexpected' came first." "I was wondering how I was going to get out from under the rubble. I really thought I was going to die." "That it was dark." "I was wondering if I was dreaming or if it was real." "My brother. My little brother. I couldn't figure out where he was." "Why my mother wasn't moving." "That my sister had burned our dinner because I was wondering what could make such a foul smell."  
__*_

_Wh … where am I?_

It wasn't his sight, his hearing, or his feeling that came back to him first; rather, it was his sense of taste. He tasted something warm and metallic-like in his mouth, no doubt a disgusting sensation. When his feeling and movement came back to him, his mind recognized it as blood.

His initial reaction caused him to spit it out, coughing as he did so. He felt weighed down, and when his sight and hearing came to him last, he was shocked at the scene before him. The scale of destruction that he saw did not want to register in his mind. It was mind-blowing; he couldn't bring himself to believe it. He couldn't see anything standing that wasn't broken down the middle or spilled out onto the streets.

He pushed himself up with his arms. Were his arms shaking? Yes, they were. From the shock of the shake, and the shock of the destruction thereafter. His feeble, primitive mind was dominating him, and it was telling him to be scared. To find something, somewhere safe. But he started fighting it back, and brought himself up to his feet. He was shaking. But he knew it couldn't be helped.

Mikado took a deep breath, taking the moment to realize that his apartment had caved in to the one below, and that he'd been thrown clear before the roof caved in as well. He kept breathing, trying to shake off what had happened. _It's okay … you're okay … you're still alive … you're still breathing …_ however, it only gave him the slightest comfort, as his fear of death now gave way to a new fear.

_Where is … everyone?_ He looked wide-eyed around him, still breathing in and out to calm himself. It was then he noticed the bodies. He might not be dead, but there were dead around him.

He quickly turned away, facing what was left of his apartment, trying to keep his gaze on the inanimate rubble rather than the once living. He didn't want to think about the bodies right now. He didn't want to think at all.

_But I have to … I need to pull myself together, _he decided, and rubbed his sweaty hands together in a new attempt to calm himself. He wiped off the blood trailing from his mouth, trying not to look at it. Trying not to think of why it was there or where it was coming from. He had escaped with a few cuts and a lot of bruises, and the bleeding probably meant something internal. But he didn't want to think about that.

_I should gather up what I can salvage … and go look for others. Others are probably gathering somewhere._ He decided, and shakily walked back into the mess of what was his apartment, looking for anything he could find. But then he realized he had no idea _what _to bring because of disasters. He never learned how to prepare for these. _Food and water … those are necessities … _he also found his bag, and stuffed what little food he found undamaged into it. He also found a water bottle, and put that in as well. He left his school books (he doubted he needed those now), but took his cell phone, the clothes he found, a towel (which wasn't from his apartment, but did it matter right now?), a few pens, a medicine box (also not from his apartment), and a few other things, including a small wallet-sized picture booklet he found that belonged to him. After he was certain he had everything, he mentally prepared himself to head out, and tried not to look at the devastation or the bodies. He needed to find others, first, before night fell. Then he could freak out. If he freaked out now, he might not make it.  
*

He felt fear start to ascend in his heart. _I can't be the only one left … there are too many people in Ikebukuro for me to be the only one left …! _Yet, he could see no one. And those that he could see were simply bodies of what were once people. He felt a sickness rising at the sight of the corpses, at the mangled limbs sticking out from under the rubble, flesh open in the air, blood still draining from open, fatal wounds …

Mikado crouched down and held his mouth shut with his hands to keep from upchucking the contents of his stomach. It wasn't a movie. It wasn't a stunt. And it wasn't a gag. Those were real bodies, laying there, in front of him … they had all once been real people …

He held his position for a few minutes, trying to calm his nerves – and his stomach – down. He breathed in and out, slowly, trying to regain a stable system. He needed to keep the little food in his stomach in; he didn't know when he'd find others, or how widespread the damage stretched. The level of destruction was clear though; nothing was standing. A wall or two here and there, but nothing stood more than two levels amidst the rubble. The tall towers, the giant complexes – they were all gone. _What was it …? An earthquake? A bomb? No, I shouldn't think about what it was now, I have to find others …_

He stood up once he felt he could keep calm enough. He knew he had to find "shelter" for the night, and that he ought to look for survivors for as long as he could hold out. He knew dusk would become night, and without any sign of electricity, it would be impossible for him to find his way around safely.

"Honey? Honey? Can you hear me? Say something!"

Mikado snapped his head around in the direction he heard the voice, and started over as quickly as he could. _There's someone else! There's someone else!_ He didn't know who it could be, but the excitement and joy he was feeling overwhelmed any suspicions.

However, he slowed down, and stopped, when he saw who had been talking. A man, who had a deep gash down his head, was howling mournful cries as he held – presumably – his love's body in his arms.

Mikado felt a cold chill rush down his blood, his feet growing heavier at the sight. He didn't know what to think. He didn't think he could think. He was witnessing something worse than death …

The man saw him after a few minutes, and his mournfulness turned into anger. "What are you doing here?"

"I … I …" Mikado wasn't sure what to say.

"Get out! GO AWAY!" The man screamed, throwing a stone in Mikado's direction, and resuming his mournful cries.

Mikado shied away, feeling heavy in his heart, and turned and started walking away. Even if it was another survivor, he wouldn't be able to survive with him.

He walked on for another fifteen minutes or so, feeling so many overwhelming emotions, and being unable to express any of them. _What do I think? What do I say? What do I do?_ Nothing he ever learned prepared him for this.

He walked forward a few steps on top of the debris; its height ranged anywhere from ground level to seven feet high; he was climbing over hills of rubble, and he stopped on one of the mounds when he heard some noise. He wasn't sure what it was, but he took the opportunity. "Hello? Is anyone there?" Mikado shouted, cupping his hands to amplify his voice. He then waited silently for any sound to come to him. He heard a muffled response.

_Someone – someone else is still alive! _Feeling his heart race, he carefully and quickly slid down the rubble pile, going off in the direction of where he heard the noise come from. "If someone's out there, please make some sort of noise!" Mikado shouted again, and once again, he heard a muted reply; it was a voice. Mikado made his way around part of a still-standing wall, avoiding the busted wires on the ground. Inside of what was probably a shop lay overturned shelves and debris from the ceiling. There were dark stains and what looked like … chunks of flesh splattered along the far end. He covered his mouth again, trying to keep himself calm. _Just don't go over there and look at it … figure out where the sound is coming from …_ he hoped it wasn't coming from over there.

He heard more grunting from (thankfully) behind him. He turned around, seeing a shelf overturned on the ground and with ceiling rubble and pipes scattered all around and on top of it. Someone's hand was sticking out from under the mess, _and it was moving_.

Mikado, grateful that at least this time it was someone that was alive, quickly went over to the hand, putting his own on top of it. _Still warm!_ "Are you okay in there?"

"I can't tell!" Came the muffled response; Mikado could sense some pain in the other's voice. "Get me out of here, I can't move anything!"

"R-right!" Mikado wasn't the strongest nor the most flexible, and he knew that for a fact (most of the girls in his class could outrun him, much to Masaomi's amusement); but he knew if he worked at it long enough, he could make it. He started by hauling away the debris around the hand, soon revealing an arm and clearing out a hole; he couldn't see well in the dark, though, so no matter how hard he squinted he couldn't see the person's face or the damage (though it looked like a kid).

"How badly are you hurt?" Mikado asked. He wasn't a doctor of any sorts, but he knew that sometimes it was actually better to "leave the nail in the wound" because it kept someone from bleeding to death.

"I'm not sure; I can move my arms now, but I still can't feel my legs!" The kid moved his arms, but Mikado could still only see the one.

"Alright, I don't know how badly you're hurt either but I'm going to start taking junk off the top; if you feel bleeding or pain or anything, let me know, alright?"

"Sure thing sempai!"

Mikado nearly twitched at the 'sempai,' but he put it out of his mind and started pushing the pipes and ceiling concrete off of the bookcase, hoping that dusk would hold out for just a few moments longer.

*  
Once he was confident that the shaking and subsequent disaster, was over, Orihara Izaya pushed the remnants of one of his bookshelves (as well as what was left of the ceiling) off of himself. He was lucky that the apartments, all except one, anyways, above him had toppled sideways, so nothing crushed him. But, there was a long, vertical pipe embedded deep down into the rubble … he'd missed impalement by a few feet! That made him smile, though it wasn't really a smile of relief.

He scooted his leg out from under a heavy part of the ceiling, enabling him to crawl through the narrow spaces created by the collapse of the apartment above. He had to climb up some points, too, as the apartment under him had too collapsed. Luckily for him, there seemed to be a medium-sized strip of light ahead, meaning he was close to the "surface." Or, at least he had a way out, anyway. He hoped he wouldn't have to dig too much, he wasn't really one for that kind of gritty work.

But, he still had to shove a large piece of debris out of the way, making him a little bit disgruntled. He quickly climbed out, but standing near the entrance caused part of his "tunnel" to collapse. He wiped off his hands and looked around, wide eyed (but not quite so shocked). The devastation was on a massive scale; he wasn't sure that there had been anything like this before. It also meant that not many people made it if he couldn't see a hoard of people fleeing through the ruined streets. Being the weirdo that he is, he gave an eerie smile. "Well now, that's not something you see every day!"

The parkour master easily jumped from one heap of rubble to another, looking around his now ruined apartment. It wasn't too long before he finally made out the figure of –

"Well, what do you know! It's my good old secretary!" Alive she was. Even though he would never admit this, he was slightly relieved. It meant he didn't have to learn how to manipulate or work around new people.

The woman simply sat there, slightly dazed and holding her head. Her right wrist was clearly sprained, a large bruise on her forehead, and there was a fairly deep gash in her shoulder. Her hair was a mess. Her head was swaying back and forth a little, as if she were about to fall asleep again … and again …

Izaya bent down, and started shaking her good shoulder. "Oy, oy, don't conk out on me now."

Startled, her eyes shot open. She surveyed the area with the eyes of a true scientist – cool and calculated. Izaya turned towards the horizon, seeing that dusk was going to set soon. "This isn't good at all. The whole city's been demolished. Maybe Shizuo turned into Godzilla or something. I have to admit though, this is the greatest event that I've ever witnessed! Still …" Izaya's eyes furrowed into a brow, "how many of my precious people has a greater force taken from me?"

Namie looked a little bored. "Hmph, what does it matter? We're alive. Life is about looking after your own interests, anyway."

Izaya turned to her, an eerie grin appearing once more. "Ah, well then, Ms. Yagiri, may I ask if you would not be interested in the least if one of those corpses was your brother?"

Namie felt her heart stop, her eyes immediately changing from calm to fear. "Se-Seiji?"

In the blink of an eye, she lifted herself from the ground. "S-Seiji? Brother?" Her voice was a hushed whisper as she slowly walked forward, not really being as careful as she should be amidst the unstable environment. "Seiji."

Her voice was slowly rising each time she said his name. "Seiji. Seiji. Seiji."

Her voice was louder now, matching the equally loud beating of her heart. "Seiji. Seiji. Seiji. Seiji. Seiji!"

She chanted over and over until she was finally screaming. "SEIJI!" Her heart beat was erratic and she felt herself sweating and panting. To a normal person, it would like she was having a heart attack; though that might have well been the case.

Izaya thought she looked like a deranged old lady with her sluggish movement, limp right hand, and eyes wide. "SEIJI! SEIJI! SEIJI!" Not to mention the shrill voice. She looked nothing like a scientist. Izaya would have thought she'd rationalize or something in a situation like this, but it appeared that when it came to her younger brother, emotions overruled all.  
*

With a final push, Mikado had finally managed to completely move all of the wreckage off of the kid trapped under all of it. He let the shattered shelf clatter to the ground, trying to regain his breath and not inhale any of the dust particles that flew upwards. It was too dark to see much of anything now; he could only see shadowy outlines of figures. _It probably wouldn't be smart to move him or do anything until morning, if we can wait that long …_

"…Are you okay?" Mikado asked, carefully bending down next to him.

"My legs really, really hurt now. They feel like they're broken," came the response.

"Which parts? Feet? Upper Legs? Lower Legs? Knees?"

A pause, then "I really can't tell, sempai."

"… Why are you calling me 'sempai'?"

"You sound like one." Came the response with a little chuckle. "Why? Am I wrong?"

"… I guess it doesn't matter." He felt that the situation rather than what to call the kid was more important.

"My name's Kuronuma Aoba, I am – was – whatever – a middle school student. Who are you?"

"I'm Ryugamine Mikado, I attend – attended – Raira Academy," Mikado answered.

Aoba didn't try to hide the surprise on his face; it wasn't like the other could see him in the dark, anyways. _This … this is the guy I've been investigating? The guy that was confronting that woman at the Dollar's meeting?_ He tried to shove the thoughts out of his mind, but he found it difficult to try.

"Anyways, do you think you're going to be able to stay like this until morning? I don't know how to set legs, especially in the dark."

"I don't know; it hurts, though." Aoba winced. "Hey, Mikado-sempai, I think there were some flashlights in this store … before it fell, of course." He laughed nervously. "Maybe you can feel around for them?"

"Flashlights?" _Those would help, that is, if they have batteries in them …_ "Do you remember which part?"

"Umm, towards the back, I think …"

Mikado froze. He knew that there was probably a dead, deranged body at the back of the store; when he had first got here, he could see the blood splattered in the back, among other things … _plus, I can even smell it now …_ he felt the sickness starting to come back to him, but he fought it down. "Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure."

"A-alright, I'll try to go look." Mikado got up, feeling himself shake a little. _Please, please don't let me run into the body …_ he headed towards the back of the store very, very cautiously; he was avoiding the broken glass and objects littered on the tiled floor, feeling his way around.

He kept feeling for what felt like flashlights, but he grabbed numerous other things instead; magazines, bottles, boxes of some sort (_This must have been a convenience store_, he thought) and other things. "How far back were they?" Mikado called.

"All the way at the back!" Came the answer.

Mikado shivered, knowing that the body was back there. _Come on, just keep heading straight … the body was in the other corner._ He kept moving forward, and felt his foot hit a rock of sorts. Cursing under his breath, he bent down and started feeling again.

_Box … box … can … warm and furry …_

…_Wait. Warm and furry?_ He jumped and yelped in surprise when he felt the warm and furry thing squeak and move under his hand, and he heard it scurry off. _Eww, a rat … probably … it was a rat, right?_

"Are you okay?" Aoba called in worry, having heard Mikado yelp.

"Eh heh-heh, yeah," Mikado sweat dropped, trying to regain himself. _It was a rat. _He decided he'd keep going on.

He soon reached the back wall; half of the shelf along the back was still standing. He started feeling around for what felt like flashlights, hoping he wouldn't run into another rat. He felt more boxes, so he moved down a little. There were more boxes this time, and these ones felt small. _This feels like a match box!_ He took one of the little boxes, feeling the side where matches were struck. He opened it cautiously and pulled one out, happy enough to have found it, and struck the match. A little flicker of light came to life, and he quickly looked along the shelves, searching for the flash lights. He found them easily; they were on the shelf under the matches. He kept his gaze away from anything else, however, for the stench of the body was stronger at the back and he didn't want to chance seeing it.

He took one of the flashlights, shaking it; it felt heavy, and he could hear batteries shaking inside of it. _Good, that means I won't have to search for batteries as well._ He waved out the match (it had almost burned down to his fingers) and turned on the flashlight, heading back the way he came.

Aoba was glad to see that the flashlight worked, seeing the approaching figure come back. He had rolled over so he could be lying face-up, despite the pain and protest that his legs had given him when he had done so. Mikado bent down, able to see the other's face and injuries now.

"I'm glad it works," Aoba admitted, looking down at his own legs; his face visibly winced. "They look worse than they feel right now."

Mikado looked as well; Aoba's right leg seemed to be broken all the way up, twisted from the knee down; it had a deep gash as well, but the blood looked like it had mostly dried, and it didn't seem like it had hit a major vein. His left leg seemed luckier; only his foot looked broken, and it was barely scratched.

"… I really don't know how to set legs." Mikado admitted, wanting to look away but he couldn't find himself doing so. "I – I don't really want to try either."

"Maybe tomorrow we can find someone who can," Aoba responded. "I mean, people are going to come looking for others, right? How bad is it out there?"

"…Pretty bad," Mikado admitted, sitting down and turning the flashlight off to save the batteries. "There isn't anything left standing; you're the … second one I've seen alive." He wasn't sure he wanted to remember the first one he came across, but the image was plastered in his mind and rang clearer than anything he could think of.

"Oh." Aoba felt a little disheartened. "You mean the city's basically flattened?"

"Yes, that's a way of putting it … I don't know what did it. All I remember was the ground shaking, and then waking up to see the results."

"I remember the shelf falling on me, the power going out, finding it hard to breathe, and then waking up and finding myself – OWW!" Aoba hissed, pulling his hand up and waving it around.

"What?" Mikado asked, worried. "Is it your legs?"

"No, something bit me!"

Mikado turned the flashlight on, and saw another rat – possibly the same one – scampering away. He moved the flashlight's beam across the area, seeing other little "things" move away. "Rats."

"Ewww," Aoba didn't like rats. Big dangerous sharks? Yes. Tiny furry rats? Nope. "How many of them?"

"I don't know, but … maybe we shouldn't stay here for the night if they're already coming out and biting people." _Biting corpses. _He shook the thought, and continued to suggest. "I don't know how to set legs, though …" He felt really unsure as to what he should do. He was so lost … _What am I supposed to do? I never learned how to prepare for any situation like this …_

"I'd rather have my legs be in pain a little more than have rats gnawing on me all night." Aoba muttered, propping himself up a little. " … Do you think you could … carry me?"

"Carry you?"

"Yeah, like piggy-back."

"…I really don't know. I'm not that strong." Mikado frowned; he really wasn't the athletic type. He almost always came in last when it came to racing or track or a game of sorts.

"I'm really, really short and light!" Aoba protested. "Come on, we don't have to go that far! Just somewhere high and where rats won't go! The rats are probably attracted by the food around here!"

_That's true … I wouldn't have to go too far …_ "I can try." He set the flashlight down, but left the light on. He bent down with his back turned, and felt Aoba try to grasp onto his shoulders; once he had a firm grip, Mikado pulled forward and with a great deal of strain, stood up, putting his arms back to support his load. Aoba wrapped his arms around Mikado's neck, feeling secure. Mikado's bag was still secure around his neck, and Aoba took the chance to support his left leg on the actual bag part.

"See? You can do it sempai." Aoba grinned.

"How are your legs?"

"New pain in some areas, less in others. About the same." Aoba answered, wincing at the new pains. "Just get us out of rat land."

Mikado bent down the best he could, and freed one hand quickly to grab the flashlight; he bent back up before his knees could give out on him. "Here, you can hold the flashlight," Mikado passed it up to Aoba, who took it and held it at a good angle to see their way around. They started their way out.

Once they made their way outside of what was the store, Aoba took the opportunity to move the flashlight around, getting a brief glance of the destruction that lay around them. His face winced when the flashlight trailed across some bodies. "…You weren't kidding. Just what happened? A bomb?"

"…I don't know," Mikado admitted, making his way over a mound, doing his best to not look around him. "If it had been a bomb, though, wouldn't there be fire? Clouds? Acid or black rain? There aren't any clouds at all." It was true; from the time he had woken up, the only clouds he encountered were ground-level dust clouds. Even now the sky was lit up by stars, not a cloud in sight.

"Earthquake?"

"… Probably." It left them both in confused, worried states of minds. If it had been an earthquake, then the magnitude must have jolted off the scale; both could only imagine how far the destruction reached. It probably stretched beyond Tokyo, since no "rescue teams," visitors, or the likes could be seen.

"But if it was an earthquake, then would there really be this many casualties? In a big city like this?" He could already smell the stench of the dead.

"… I don't know."

After a while of hiking, Mikado stopped, looking around the best he could.

"What is it, Mikado-sempai?" Aoba asked, moving the flashlight around where Mikado was looking.

"Do you see any good places to stay?" He asked, following where Aoba was pointing the flashlight; his arms and legs were growing tired from carrying the younger around, and he didn't want to go further and see more dead people lying in the streets and under the rubble. They had even passed cars with carcasses inside of them. _I doubt an earthquake was the real cause of this … it must be something more._

"Umm …" Aoba continued looking around, unsure. "There isn't really … any 'good' place." Aoba stopped, going quiet. "Do you hear that?"

Mikado held his breath and remained still so he could listen; he then heard what sounded like footsteps, not too far away from them but still distant. "Yeah, I do. Can you tell what direction it's coming from?"

"Oy! Hello out there!" Came a distant voice, causing them both to look around in the general direction from which it had came. Mikado felt he recognized the voice, but he couldn't put a name on it …

"Ah, that way sempai!" Aoba said, pointing the flashlight in the right direction; Mikado couldn't look up at that moment, though, as he was carefully letting his feet slide down the rubble as he tried to maintain balance. However, his right foot slipped more and got caught on a wire, and he felt Aoba's grip tighten as he fell forwards. Yet, he somehow managed to regain his balance and not fall over onto the broken glass and signs in front of him. _That was close._ He looked back up while Aoba re-stabilized the flashlight.

Mikado's jaw nearly dropped when the beam of light fell on a familiar figure. "… Izaya … san?" _He survived too?_

"Oh, someone who knows me?" Izaya came closer, another figure trailing slowly behind him. His fur lined jacket had a hole in it … "Ah, it's Mikado-kun! This makes things more interesting!"

Aoba frowned. _Who's that? Other than the guy that I see that Heiwajima guy chasing around all the time._

"I'm sure you remember Namie-san, my secretary, too!" Izaya pointed to the woman behind him, who looked distraught and a little … zombified.

… _That's the woman that Ryugamine faced off at the Dollars' meeting!_ Aoba was baffled, and glad that the others couldn't see his face too well, as he was the one with the flashlight and it was pointing away from his face. Mikado, however, appeared surprised at the sight of both of them.

This was bound to prove … interesting.


	3. Awakening II

**UPDATE:** Guys, fellow readers, I'm really sorry I have to do this ... but I'm putting this story on indefinite leave. I just can't work on this at the same time that Japan's facing an actual crisis that's eerily similar. I realize I started this fanfiction long before the tsunami and earthquake, and now nuclear problems, but ... I just can't work on it right now. The stories are just too eerily similar for me and I feel terrible, like writing more might make me seem like I don't care. Once Japan's okay, I'll be able to bring myself to work on this, but for now, I can't. Once again, many apologies, and I'm deeply sorry.

**AN: **Hello once again, folks. Did you all hear about the earthquake in Japan that happened this yesterday / this morning? I really hope they're all okay … I kinda feel bad writing about this when it happened (on a smaller scale, thankfully). Japan, I hope you know I hope you get back on your feet, and brace yourselves for more! Hoping that nuclear plant doesn't go off, either ...

Thank you for all the reviews last time. Makes me happy and more eager to write (WhiteCrow10, everyone you named is a "no")(And thanks, Sissy, for the corrections).We get a hint of some of the other survivors in this fanfiction, but not all of them. Another thing … as I said, I only had about half of this written when I started posting. I haven't given thought to "pairing up" any of the survivors. I might, I might not. If I do, it'll probably be only one pairing. I will listen to reasoning (though you may want to wait until you hear all the survivors). Please read and review! **WE REALLY NEED ONE SHOT SUBMISSIONS! WE CURRENTLY DON'T HAVE ANY SO YOU HAVE A VERY HIGH CHANCE OF GETTING WHAT YOU WANT!**

**Special Notice:** Whoever submits the best one-shot idea _ever_ (of your own creativity and uniqueness, please nothing insanely cliché) by March 15th, 2011, will receive a one-shot of said idea on March 31st, 2011. This one-shot can be of anything (angst, romance, smut, horror, cuteness, pairing / non-pairing, etc.) so long as it's creative, it's game. Your request to us needs to be thought-out, along with any little "bullet points" you want us to note or write. The one-shot will be pushed into the 7,000 – 10,000 word range, unless the requester wants less. We'll pick the one that appeals to the both of us (if you aren't picked, no worries – we still might ask to do it). We will give partial credit to the requester. Any further questions? Just add them into your request when you message us. Multiple submissions are allowed. We have no submissions as of yet!

**Disclaimer:** We do not in any way own the characters/scenes/ … oh you know the drill I'm sure.

* * *

**When the World Goes "Boom"**

**A Durarara! Fanfiction written by Foxy**

**Chapter Three: Awakening (II)

* * *

**

She remained curled in a fetal position, her arms quivering, teeth chattering, afraid to open her eyes. The sound of screams and the cracking of crumbling buildings that occurred only minutes ago had left her traumatized. She had felt herself fall, but she didn't believe she was dead … no, she wasn't dead. She could feel scratches on her arms from the fall and she could feel them stinging as the blood slowly flowed out. She could feel herself sitting in water, feeling it run past her feet.

Mika decided to open her eyes, but quickly closed them when she noticed she was inside a large dust cloud and felt her eyes sting and water when she opened them. She moved her arm up, covering her mouth and nose to make sure she didn't breathe any of it in. But even then she smelled something odd. _A gas leak?_ She wondered, wanting to look around but knowing that she was still in the dust cloud.

Her lungs suddenly felt like they were on fire; she coughed, trying to get the burning feeling out, but it remained. _I have to get out …! I … I have to find Seiji-san!_ Seiji! _Where is he? Is he okay?_ She moved her free arm to feel around her, but didn't feel anyone next to her. She stood up, trying to open her eyes again. She could see the twilight's sky above her, the dust cloud settling a little. But where she and Seiji had been had completely caved into the ground into the water sewage systems. One of the trees near them in the park had completely uprooted and had fallen top-wise into the sewage system as well; its roots were still propped up against the ground level, however, and Mika recognized that as her way to climb out. _I can look for Seiji-san if I can see better …_

She walked over to the tree, avoiding the rubble and the glass in the water. Still keeping her mouth covered, she searched for the best way to climb up the tree, and prayed that it wouldn't fall further or roll over as she climbed up it. However, the tree was quite sturdy, and she managed to climb up it and out of the dust cloud. At the top, she took the opportunity to breathe, pulling her arm back, only to realize that her sleeve had blood on it.

Standing frozen and staring wide-eyed at the blood, Mika was afraid to wonder about it. _Is … is that mine …? _Her lungs still ached. She moved her arm up to wipe her mouth, and when she pulled it back, there was only more blood. To say she felt scared was an understatement.

Her knees started to buckle as she looked at the scene around her. There weren't any buildings standing. Huge dust and debris clouds covered her view of the distance, so she could only assume the destruction was widespread. She could see bodies of other people around her, but she quickly looked away; she didn't like the idea of seeing dead people. Nearly all of the trees had been leveled in the park, and the ground had collapsed into underground systems all along where she and Seiji had been sitting -

_Seiji-san! Where is he?_

She had to find him; he had to be alive, and somewhere near. _I'm alive, so Seiji must have fallen in somewhere too …! _She walked along the upper part of the ground aside what had collapsed into the underground systems. She kept peering over, calling out "Seiji!" to see if her loved one would respond. But each time she called, and received no answer, her heart continued to despair further. But she wouldn't allow her heart to sway her. _I have to find him …! And I will find him! Yes! This is just like one of those famous love stories, where one of the lover's lives is in danger, only to be saved at the last minute by his or her true love! And then they'll live happily ever after. I will find him! _She would find Seiji, wait for him to wake up, and everything would be fine; they'd have each other.

She thought she could see a figure down in the systems; she leaned over, calling to it. "Seiji, is that you?" It didn't respond, but it was definitely someone. "Seiji?" She got too close to the edge, before she knew it, the ground gave way under her feet, and she felt herself plummeting once more. Frightened, she managed to grab onto a part that wasn't falling, but it only delayed her fall. It too soon crumbled and she fell, once more, into the underground systems.

She felt bruised, wet, and sore; she had felt a piece of glass cut deep into her leg. _But I'm still okay … _she got back up onto her feet, and headed towards the figure she had seen. _Seiji … is that you …?_

She froze, her heart stopping when she finally saw the figure before her. All her thoughts ceased as her mind was trying to process the shock of what she saw.

She had found Seiji. He was the one lying there. But what had stopped her from running to him, waking him, and being together forever with him, was that fate had impaled an underground pipe in his skull.  
*

"Hold the flashlight still," Namie growled, shooting a glare at Mikado.

"R-right," He yelped a little, steadying his hands so the flashlight's beam remained focused. He couldn't help it if he was still shaking. He didn't like the situation he was in, and he didn't like seeing the messed up flesh and bones caught in the beam. _I didn't realize Kuronuma-san's leg was this bad …_

"Is it going to be okay?" Aoba asked, still feeling a little awkward around people he'd been investigating. The one he didn't know, though – Orihara Izaya if he remembered correctly – was scavenging around the site for who knew what.

"Maybe. It needs to be washed off before it's set." Namie responded. She rubbed her sprained wrist, trying to keep from losing it. She was doing very well, considering the emotional turmoil she was experiencing. "I don't think we're going to find anything clean here, though."

"I have a water bottle in my bag," Mikado said starting to fish around in his bag.

"That'll have to do for now. We'll set it too, but wait until morning to bandage it."

Aoba paled. "Wait, you're going to set it _now? _In the dark? A-and not wrap it up?"

"If you want your leg to heal properly, it should be set as soon as possible. Or would you like a permanent limp?"

Aoba didn't have the chance to answer, as Mikado pulled out the bottle and handed it to Namie. "Here," Mikado offered.

Namie _tched._ "You're going to have to do it."

"H-huh?" Mikado's mouth hung open a little.

"My wrist is sprained. I wouldn't be able to set it firmly enough. So set his leg and wash it off." Namie took the flashlight away with her good hand, growing frustrated at the clueless brat before her. "Go on and do it."

"Right," he set the bottle down, but quickly got snapped at.

"Idiot, you wash your hands off first."

"R-right," Mikado snatched the bottle back up, and used some of the water to rub the dirt and grime off from his hands.

She rolled her eyes. She grew ever vexed with each new command. Why was she here, helping this _brat_ that cost her her job, her pharmacy, her relationship with her brother? She should be out now, looking for Seiji. Seiji probably needed her right now; he was probably, lost, confused, and hungry. The more she thought about it, the more desire to look for him started overwhelming her. She shouldn't be here. Not with the manipulator she worked with, not with people she didn't give a damn for. She should be looking for her brother. The only one she chose to love.

"E-eh, what do I do now?"

Namie came out of her thoughts, but her overall bitterness grew exponentially. "You set it."

"I don't know what's supposed to be straightened!" He protested somewhat, visibly wincing at the bloodied flesh when he looked at it again.

"Uuh, Yagiri-san, could you just do it …?" Aoba asked, not liking the fact that he might end up worse than he already was.

"You start with the upper broken joints." She moved over, pushing Mikado down slightly as she moved to Aoba's right and kneeled back down. She gave the flashlight to Aoba, who looked confused for a moment. "Hold it on your wound, boy." She growled, and he complied. _Just my luck to be stuck with clueless idiots …_

She pressed her good hand down near the top of the wound, causing his face to visibly scrunch and his leg to twitch. She turned her head to Mikado. "Grab the part under it and twist it away from you and upwards. I'll tell you when it's aligned."

Aoba frowned. _Twist it?_ This was going to hurt, wasn't it? He had a total of four fractures, three of those being in his right leg, one in his left (at least, that's what Yagiri told him). The middle and lower ones on his right leg were open wounds, too. The first one was fractured too, but not torn open.

Mikado held his breath as he grasped the lower leg, and gathering up what courage he had, started to twist the bone as Namie had directed. He nearly stopped when Aoba started shouting, but the glare that he received from Namie read: "Stop now, and it'll only be worse." So, he kept going, until she said to stop. _Why am I doing this?_ He vaguely wondered. Things weren't making much sense anymore, were they?

"Alright, set the second fracture." She answered coolly, ignoring the younger's cries of pain. She made sure that the bones had snapped back into place in the first fracture before moving on. Pressing her hand firmly down ahead of the fracture, cutting off some of the circulation as this wound was open, she said: "Turn it towards you this time. Don't push it upwards."

Mikado started to grab the part right under the flesh wounds, but Namie growled. "You're going to have to put your hand in the flesh, boy."

… _That's what I was trying to avoid …_ but he realized that he needed to get this right. Doing his best to ignore the feeling his hand experienced in the flesh, he inhaled deeply and started turning it. His heart nearly stopped when Aoba let out a panicked yell, clearly in pain, and that's when Mikado noticed he could see the leg _bone_ turning in the wound … the flesh was cut down to the bone. The _bone_. It had avoided the major veins and arteries, somehow, but it was still very deep …

He did his best to keep from being disgusted, and heard the bone snap back into place. He saw the bone snap back into place.

"H-hey, you sure we can't wait to do the rest until tomorrow?" Aoba asked, whimpering a little. He wasn't really enjoying this, even though the people working on him knew what they were doing (sort of).

"We can wait, but the bones will start healing improperly." Namie replied monotonously, clearly other things on her mind. "Set them now, make makeshift splints, and we'll take care of the rest in the morning."

She released the pressure, and started rifling through Mikado's bag, conveniently placed between the two of them. Mikado, puzzled, asked: "What are you doing?"

"Open wounds need to be covered." She answered, pulling out a shirt and started tearing it, regardless of Mikado's minute protest. She set the strips down except for one, dunking some water on it and cleaning out the wound (which too hurt). Then, using the dry strips, she packed one into the flesh hole, and tied the others around to cover it and keep the packed strip in. It wasn't the greatest, but it would help prevent infection until morning, when they could get better supplies and rig a tension system. Although, she was planning on leaving the first chance she got. She had to find Seiji …

They finished up the two other breaks easily enough. At the end, though, Aoba looked petrified from the pain of feeling his bones and nerves reconnect, and was doing his best to keep from moving even just a little. A few involuntary tears had escaped, but he wasn't really crying. He kept his back leaning up against the part of the standing wall, doing his best to keep his mind off the pain. _At least they're helping me out … and they were being as gentle as they could be … even though it hurts!_

Mikado went and came back in a few minutes, having found a broken metal rod. They used it to straighten the highly fractured leg, using more of Mikado's clothes to fasten it. Namie stood up, satisfied. "Don't move for a while. We'll have to clean it up better later."

"T-thanks, Yagiri-san …" Aoba's voice came out strained.

Hmph. His thanks meant nothing to her. It only worried her that Seiji might be in worse trouble … he could be severely injured. She should be out looking for him … he needed her right now …

"You'll be alright, Kuronuma-san," Mikado feigned a laugh, trying to wipe off the flesh and blood residue on his hand onto the back of his clothes. By now, Mikado had taken back the flashlight, and was trying not to point it in any direction where flesh was present. He was glad they had found shelter of sorts, be it though in what was probably once a small closet room; the lower half of the walls were still standing, and it meant he didn't have to look around and see bodies. _Though we'll be able to see them in the morning_ … he looked up at the sky, frowning. _Why haven't any rescue teams come yet? This has to be too massive to handle if we haven't seen anything yet …_

A clapping interrupted all of their thoughts, and they all turned their heads to see Izaya hop into the space. "Well now, seems you've gotten all that straightened out! I must thank you, my secretary, for saving one of my beloved humans!"

"Shut up." She growled. She didn't need his "jollies" right now. The stress inside of her was building up to the point she wasn't sure she could handle much more …

"Where were you, Izaya-san?" Mikado inquired. He was curious to know where the informant had gone.

"Around, assessing some of the damage. We should stay here until morning when we can see things better." He shrugged, giving off his eerie grin. Even in the darkness, it could still be seen.

"Did you find anyone else?" Aoba asked.

"Plenty. But it's not wise to go out right now. You might want to turn off the light there, too." He pointed at the flashlight. "It might attract unwanted people. Not that I'd turn away my beloved humans~"

Izaya rambled on for a while longer, making jokes about what was going on and running through some rather insane scenarios, such as what caused this and what they were going to do. Mikado chose to ignore them, knowing that it was probably the informant's way of releasing stress. He sat down against the wall next to Aoba, who had worn out from the stress and pain, and was now sleeping against him. Mikado let him do so, seeing as how Aoba had been injured the most out of all of them. Namie, however, only felt the stress broiling up inside of her even more as each one of Orihara's scenarios passed by.

_He's playing this like a game … he doesn't realize how serious this is … how badly hurt my brother and others probably are …!_

It was at this point that Yagiri Namie snapped.

"I don't believe this! We should be out there looking for other survivors and people that need help!" Namie hissed at Izaya, standing up straight, sounding like a distressed cobra.

"In sheer darkness?" Izaya replied flatly, still sitting down on the ground across from Aoba and Mikado. "You wouldn't be able to see where you're going. It's not like all the street lights are still up."

"B-but isn't she right, Izaya-san?" Mikado spoke up, but quietly since Aoba was sound asleep next to him. "We should be searching for others to see who's alive. There's probably still a lot of people trapped in places …"

"Probably, but we should wait until we have some daylight."

"Why should we wait?" Namie snapped, anger growing ever more inside of her. "We have a flashlight to help us! Aren't you the one who proclaims he loves humans? You should be for looking for them too!"

Izaya felt free to laugh at Namie; he was amused at this situation. "I do love humans! But I understand that we'd probably save a whole lot more by waiting for morning. Think about it: the destruction seems to be beyond Ikebukuro and its neighbors, otherwise we'd've seen people flooding in and helicopters at this point. And as we can see, there aren't any buildings left standing. It would be better for to stay in one spot in case there are aftershocks. If we went out searching at night, we wouldn't be able to see the electrical wires, glass, gas leaks – even the corpses. We might even trigger an explosion or cause more things to fall down." Izaya explained, a proud little smile on his face; he took the flashlight from the center where Mikado had placed it, and held it up to his chin, turning on and purposefully (distastefully) making a spooky face. "We should wait until we can see what we're doing."

Namie, fed up with Orihara Izaya and his mind games, resisted the urge to pummel him and snatched the flashlight away. She quickly got up and started heading away from the site. "I don't care, I'm going to go look."

"W-wait, Yagiri-san -!" Mikado started, but he was interrupted by Izaya.

"Let us know when you find Seiji-kun, will you?" Izaya called teasingly, waving to her figure before it vanished in the night.

"… Is she really going to be alright?" Mikado asked. "And why did you have to tease her?"

"She'll be fine; she's just a little stupid right now. I doubt she'll get far." Izaya replied, leaning back against the wall behind him. Mikado frowned, a little disturbed by Izaya's attitude and how he always found a way to be rude in any situation. He also didn't like the fact of the group getting smaller … as far as he knew, there were very, very few still alive. And they needed to stick together to survive. Survival instinct was coming to life inside of him, and it was telling him to stick with the group, no matter what the dynamics of the group were.

Izaya shrugged, getting back up, and walking around. "I think I'm going to explore a little myself."

"But we don't have the flashlight anymore …" Mikado muttered, but then he remembered that he had stuffed the matches that he had found in the store into his bag … "Ah, one moment," he started shuffling around again, though being quiet enough to not wake the other. He tossed the box of matches at Izaya, who caught them with skill in the dark. "Thanks, but it's not wise to use these when there's probably gas leaking somewhere." Nonetheless, he kept the matches, and vanished in the darkness.

Mikado frowned, leaning back and looking up at the sky. There was hardly any moonlight, and he was surprised to find that he could see the stars with extreme clarity. _It's too peaceful … for what happened._

A few hours passed. He found himself unable to sleep. He was too stressed right now to sleep, and too afraid to sleep without someone awake. He knew stories of people robbing each other blind in disasters, he didn't need that happening to him. He took this time to think, and think about what was going on.

_I wonder who's alright … _he felt fear start to swell when he realized that a lot of people he knew were probably dead as well. After all, it was highly unlikely that with so few survivors, that any of his friends survived … _Masaomi-kun, Sono … no, Anri-san … and Kadota-san and … and …_

He pulled out his phone in habit, trying to get it to work. It would turn on, but the calling wouldn't work. Finally, he resorted to texting … and found that that _did work._

He bent up some, his surprised expression lit up by the glow of the small screen. _Seriously? I'm still getting service? But … how?_ He wondered, but he pushed that aside. So long as it was working, he had to use it. _I should let my parents know I'm alright. I have to do this before my battery runs out._

He started typing buttons, sitting straighter upwards. The shifting caused Aoba to stir, who looked bleary-eyed at the phone.

"Sempai, what are you doing?" Aoba asked, leaning onto Mikado so he could look at what he was writing on the cell phone. "That thing still works?"

"Yes, surprisingly," Mikado admitted, "at least the texting does. My cell phone took a beating though, and calling doesn't seem to work anymore."

"Hmm. So who are you texting?"

"Well … first, my parents. I'm letting them know I'm alright so they don't panic when they wake up and see the news." He allowed himself a small chuckle.

"How come you know they're not panicking right now?"

"They would have flooded my phone with messages by now if they knew. And they weren't caught up in this, I think, because they were on a trip together to Australia … but they'll probably see the news in the morning, and by then my phone'll be dead." He could hear his voice sinking as he said that. _That's right. My phone will go dead, and I won't be able to contact anyone and no one will be able to contact me … What if someone needs help?_ He didn't want to even consider that. To think, what if someone tried to call him for help … the moment his phone went dead?

"Mmm." Aoba was tired; he pressed against Mikado even further, enjoying the warmth since he didn't exactly have a blanket, and couldn't get up to find one with his leg the way it was. "'Kay."

"Do you have parents or family you want to contact? I can try sending them a message," Mikado offered.

"Nah … I'm not exactly close to any of them." He yawned, closing his eyes; he wanted to sleep and forget the pain throbbing in his legs. The sheer darkness around them was almost frightening, but he felt that if he could fall asleep while the cell phone was on, he'd be all right.

Mikado continued typing, sending out messages to those he knew.

First, to his parents. [_Mom, Dad, I'm alright. Please don't panic, I'll find a way out of this.] [Right now I'm with some other survivors, we're going to figure out what to do in the morning.] [If you could, please try contacting others here. My phone will die soon and I want to make sure they're okay.]_ He sent them a long list of numbers – those of his friends here, and people he knew back home in Saitama - and sighed.

_Masaomi-kun …_ yes, he'd been growing distant from him, but he needed to shove that aside right now. Even though their relationship had been straining some, it didn't matter. He needed to know if his friend was alright. Anri, too. Was she alright? Did she need any help? And Kadota, and the rest of that gang? Speaking of gangs, what of the Dollars?

He sent out a message to the Dollars mailing list, surprised a little more by the fact that he could still receive some internet service, too. He wasn't sure how it was possible, but he'd take the chance while he could.

[_If anyone needs help, mail out on this list. We're going to find each other and survive._]  
*

She woke to the sound of a horn wailing near her. She turned her head, seeing the night sky and its heavenly body above her. She'd been thrown clear of the collapsing building … somehow.

The horn continued its bellow, and she pushed herself upwards, feeling bruised and scratched everywhere. _What happened?_ She vaguely wondered, getting up onto her feet. She nearly fell back; she wasn't used to standing. The horn … it was coming from an overturned car. She didn't want to look inside. She could guess what happened. The twisting buildings from before, the quake … the part in which she couldn't breathe …

Turning back and seeing nothing but ruin, she felt her heart beat faster, and she decided that she had to start off somewhere. Barefoot and feeling weak, she went onward, trying to make sense of the devastation around her as she started to guess what happened to all that she loved in the now ruins of a mega metropolis.


End file.
